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Saturday, March 27, 2010

I really like samosas, but I'm not a huge fan of fried food. The other day I came across this recipe for baked samosas and decided to give it a try with a few tweaks. Vegetarian samosas are mostly carbohydrates, so I wanted to increase their protein content. Luckily, we have frozen edamame that only require four minutes in the microwave. This was a great substitute for the more traditional peas, as they pack a mean soy protein punch and don't turn to mush when cooked. I also hate peas with a passion. Their sole use in my world is for weaponry and thus they will never make it into my food. Uh yeah. I also added some grated carrot for a hint of sweetness and some lemon juice for freshness. The filling turned out to be amazing and would even be great on its own as a side dish.

I know this whole flauta thing sounds a little weird. I'd like to make a joke about how, here in Southern California, every cuisine is Mexican-fusion. Alas, I must admit that the flauta portion of this dish was borne of my utter inability to roll dough into a perfect circle and fold samosas properly. See, I made the dough in that recipe linked above. I started to roll out my dough, and it decided to hate me. So upon my mother's suggestion, I used a bowl as a super-sized circle cutter. While I did have circles, I failed at wrapping. My traditional samosas were so hideous and embarrassing, I refused to take pictures of them for the blog. Anyway, my parents and I were sitting in the kitchen trying to figure out how to make this easy on me when my mom mentions we have tortillas. Fresh, preservative-free flour tortillas, in fact. So we lightly warmed one up so it was easier to roll. I cut it in half, scooped in a line of filling, rolled and sealed. Brushed with a little olive oil, baked and then broiled, these things were amazing. The tortillas held the filling nicely, crisped up well, and were easy to handle and dip in the chutney. I think the texture ended up approximating the fried samosas much more closely than the dough.

I made coriander (cilantro, whatever) chutney because my fresh herbs were starting to look bad. There are a myriad of options out there. If you choose to make these, definitely find a chutney you enjoy to serve them with. Chutney really completes the dish.

Flautas

3 medium potatoes

1/2 cup of edamame, thawed

1/2 a small yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup grated carrot

2 tsp of ground coriander

1/2 tsp of cayenne

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

2 tsp of lemon or lime juice

1 package of flour tortillas of any size. You can probably also use whole wheat.

Olive oil

Coriander Chutney

3/4 cup firmly packed fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

1/2 a small yellow onion, sliced (the other half from above)

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tbs lemon or lime juice

pinch of salt

access to water

Directions

1. Peel and boil the potatoes until tender. If you're pressed for time, dice the potatoes up, rinse them off, and microwave until done (start with 3 minutes, and add more time). Dice when done.

2. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet. Add potatoes, edamame, carrot, onion and spices. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure everything is coated in the spices.

3. Take off the heat and add in citrus juice.

4. Warm up your tortillas, only one or two at a time, so they are slightly more pliable. This should only take about 30 seconds in a skillet. The idea is to make them pliable enough so they dont rip and crack as you roll.

5. Cut the tortilla in half. Add two tablespoons of filling, and roll. Use a bit of water to help seal the flauta.

See, I even made you an ugly picture. That yellow there is your filling. You want to leave about half an inch of space around the edges to facilitate rolling and keep the filling from spilling out. When it is rolled up, you're going to just dip your finger in water and smear it on the curve, where the blue is. Press down so it sticks. Place, sealed-side down, on a cookie sheet.

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